Social Care Theory for Practice Essay

A team is a group of people which are treated equally and form together as one bringing different opinions and ideas to their common goal. “Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.” – Brian Tracy, Motivational Speaker and author. Bruce Tuchman’s theory for teamwork is well known as the 4 stages to make an effective team. The first of these stages being forming which is when a team are first coming together and beginning to get to know each other. There is high dependence at this stage for the leader for guidance and encouragement as each individual’s roles and responsibilities are still unclear and the processes are often ignored. The next stage is storming. As the team have got to know each other slightly better there may be some confrontation as team members may begin to challenge each other and the team leader over power and how things should be done in the team. Norming is the third stage which is where members of a team begin to come together and agree on rules and values. It will be clarified who in the team does what and commitment is strong. The final stage is performing.

The team effectively and confidently work well together. They can work independently and make strong decisions without guidance from the team leader. The team have a good relationship with each other and can work towards achieving their goal. The team no longer needs to be instructed by their leader and instead can make individual decisions although the leader will still always be there to oversee. Change and Conflict can damage and cause multiple problems within a team. Personality clashes are a big cause of conflict within a team. It is not normal to get on with everybody you meet and clashes are bound to occur which results in quality of work reducing which means the full team suffers. Disagreements are always bound to occur within a team which is also a major cause of conflict. People don’t always agree on the same matters and some team members will have different priorities and stronger views on something than others do. A change in management can be a major problem as you might not get on with the new management the way you did with the previous and because you don’t know them it will be more difficult to approach them with issues or to ask for help.

It can also however, be the opposite and the new management can be a lot better than the previous and so this could be a benefit to the team. Someone leaving the team is one change that brings major problems as it can offend other team mates and hurt feelings as they may think they disliked the team. Their views on a matter will be obstructed and when they leave they will be taking all their skills with them which could cause problems with whatever the team are working on. Organisational cultures can be defined as “the style and learned ways of working and thinking that govern and shape the organisations people relationships” – University of Salford 2007. I work at an organisation called SNAP (Special Needs Adventure Playground) which is a play scheme for children aged 5-17 with additional support needs.

The organisational skills in this organisation are excellent. Teamwork is constant, there is not one working day where you will not work as part of a team as the children within our care are vulnerable so working as a team to support and enhance their learning is vital. Once a week team meetings occur with our manager to feedback on events within the week and if there has been any problems that should be addressed. Team meetings are important in my workplace as it is a time to communicate more with employees which is very important for when we are within working hours so that no disagreements or personality clashes etc. occur while we are supervising vulnerable children.

The child’s safety comes first. My manager also sends out a feedback form every few months containing questions about the organisation and if there is anything we think could improve or problems we have noticed which is strictly confidential as it does not have our name on it so nobody knows who wrote what meaning employees are able to be 100% truthful. In conclusion, teamwork is highly valued in my place of work as it is an important aspect in caring for the children as best as we can. Help is always needed within SNAP. Belbin’s theory explains how teamwork progresses showing that my place of work is at the performing stage due to our independence during work but still with the ability to ask for help off employees and comfortably go to our team leader with any problems or issues.